Several recent essays describe a new "loneliness epidemic" driven by digital communication. Researchers Lila Khan and Diego Espinoza accept the descriptive claim that reported loneliness has risen, but contest the proposed cause. They argue that the increase reflects the gradual weakening of place-based institutions — congregations, unions, civic clubs — and that digital communication is at most a coping mechanism that imperfectly substitutes for those vanishing settings.
Which choice best describes the function of the third sentence in the text?
- A
It introduces an unrelated cultural trend.
- Bcheck_circle
It accepts the descriptive claim while reassigning causation to a different, structural source.
- C
It rejects both the descriptive and causal claims of the essays.
- D
It restates the essays' position using different words.
Explanation
Khan and Espinoza accept "loneliness has risen" but redirect the cause from digital communication to weakened place-based institutions. B captures this layered move.